Some recipes call for dusting the pans with flour. This helps the cake develop a thin, crisp crust and prevents the cake from absorbing the fat used to grease the pan. Use about one tablespoon all-purpose flour for dusting each pan, shaking and tilting until the bottom and sides have a fine coating. Then hold the pan upside down over the sink and tap it gently so excess flour falls away.

When cutting fresh bread, heat your knife by dipping it into hot water, then dry. In this way you can cut cut the thinnest bread slices from a fresh loaf easily.

Make sure you have all the ingredients before you start making the batter.

If you are going to the trouble to make a "from scratch" cake, you should always choose top-quality ingredients. Resist temptations to substitute.

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